CounterAttack cover art

CounterAttack

Also known as CounterAttack.exe

CounterAttack is a side scrolling space shooter (shmup). Team up or fight solo, 1 - 4 player local or up to 8 players online coop, unlock upgrades, use powerful ultimate abilities, enhance your ship the way you want, and save the Earth from annihilation.

Released2016
DeveloperRelative Games
PublisherRelative Games

Where to buy

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Platforms & ports

SystemYearRegionNotes
WIN Windows ★ original 2016
MAC macOS ★ original 2016
LIN Linux ★ original 2016
XONE Xbox One 2022

Screenshots

Video

Trailer

Story

Earth is under attack! The Automations, humanity's own creation, have rebelled. They will stop at nothing short of the complete annihilation of their former masters. There is but one hope, the Experimental Space Fighter program. Fight solo or team up for intense co-op action, 1 - 4 player locally or 2 - 8 players online, unlock upgrades, use powerful ultimate abilities, enhance your ship the way you want, and save the Earth from annihilation.

History

CounterAttack: Uprising is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Canadian studio Relative Software Ltd. It was released on 11 Mar, 2019

on Steam for Windows, Linux, and macOS, on September 28, 2023 for Nintendo Switch and on November 4, 2022 for Xbox One.

Gameplay

It is a 3D side-scrolling shoot 'em up game in which the player's task is to reach the end of the level.

Between levels, players are given the option to equip upgrades called attachments for their ship. These upgrades can vary from speed boosts to weapon conversions. They can also affect the visual profile of the ship. As of February 2 there are over 650 attachments.

As the game progresses, more weapons and other upgrades are made available. The fighter the player starts with only has slots for 3 weapons and 3 attachments; however, more slots are unlocked as the game progresses. There is a large variety of weapons, ranging from plasma cannons to lightning guns to singularity cannons. While weapons can be equipped between levels, they are upgraded during levels. This may enhance power, projectile velocity, rate of fire, or the nature of the attack itself.

The player's ship builds up heat while firing, indicated by a cloud of smoke that emits from their ship. This heat dissipates when firing ceases. While overheating won't prevent the player from firing their weapons, they will fire more slowly. Specials, also known as bombs, are not affected by heat. Bombs use a pickup called "quantium", which is displayed at the top left of the interface as a yellow energy orb.

Main features are "weapon and ability customization, level and campaign editors, local 4-player co-op, and cross-platform online play for up to 8 players across Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Epic, and Steam (Windows/Linux/Mac)."

Release

The game was part of Steam's Greenlight program and was greenlit on February 25, 2016. and left early access on 11 Mar, 2019. It was released on Xbox One on November 4, 2022 and Nintendo Switch eShop on September 28, 2023.

Reception

Jordam Rudek from NintendoWorldReport gave the game a 7.5/10 and wrote "Gradius-like upgrades and lots of unlockable content elevate this 'shump."

Adapted from Wikipedia , licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may have been shortened.

Sources

igdb wikidata wikipedia